Worst thing that could happen this year at the Royal Rumble?
 

Basically, come up with the worst thing that could happen, booking wise at the Royal Rumble.

I'm going with the following:

Daniel Bryan comes in at #22, to a hot reaction. He climbs into the ring. Someone rushes over and eliminates him IMMEDIATELY, a la the Warlord.

Daniel Bryan does not win the Royal Rumble.

I'm glad you added "booking wise", because I was getting ready to post "a terrorist blows up the building".

Booking-Wise.... I'd say that the worst thing would be for Dean Ambrose to have an unimpressive showing.

Bryan/Reigns/Ambrose gets legit injury on the WAY to the ring... ala Vinnie Mac when he tore his quads.

Daniel Bryan winning would be the worst scenario. 2013 and 2014 were his years, ok he was injured second half of 2014 but still. I don't get why everyone thinks he needs to win the RR.

Anything less than Reigns v Rollins for the title at WM would be a downer.



Reigns or Bryan should have won it last year. But Bryan got to be in the main event and won the title, he doesn't need an RR win.

Reigns winning the rumble is the worst possible thing that could happen. The guy is simply not ready.

The Bunny wins the Rumble

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/BzKXAy-CYAAtEKb.jpg

Batista is a surprise entrant and wins, eliminating daniel bryan last, who entered as #1

Cena wins the title, Reigns wins the Rumble, and neither guy correctly points at the Mania sign during the post-Rumble standoff moment.

El Torito winning the Royal Rumble.

Though it would at least cause some "What the fuck did I just see?" attention to the product for a week or two so maybe there's a worse option.

Rey Mysterio is a mystery entrant and isn't given a huge pop.

Just thought of another one:

El Torito scores a double elimination of Big Show and Mark Henry.

that would be awesome

No NXT Guys.

The general consensus is that Reigns isn't ready this year but you think he should have won the Rumble/main Evented WM last year!?

Or conversely the only nxt guy is

http://www.wwenews.net/wp-content/up...1385993211.jpg

Horrible (or awesome, I can't tell) idea mentioned in the Craphole...

We get the Debut of Hillbilly Err, the illegitimate Grandson of Hillbilly Jim. He is played by Erick Rowan.

I thought of a worse booking decision than El Torito winning the Rumble.

El Torito being added to the title match, it becoming an elimination match, Cena and Rollins getting eliminated early and El Torito winning after a 2 hour squash of Brock. The Royal Rumble is then cancelled because there's no more time left.

I believe that would be the worst thing that could happen booking-wise.

You want to see Roman....really cause he kinda sucks right now maybe in a year or so but not in his current state.

I'd MUCH rather have Dolph OR Ambrose if not DB Ambrose and Dolph both have unfinished business with Rollins and with either of those three you know the match will be enjoyable

Cena wins the title would be the worse thing we see at the Rumble

Kill it! Kill it with fire!

No matter what happens the usual gang of idiots at one forum will bitch.

Reigns winning would be awful.

Triple H straight up bans Bryan from the Rumble match. Ironically, the Bunny take his spot.

The Bunny is doing well, starts doing YES chants and all of Bryan's mannerisms.

Bunny eliminates Roman Reigns to win the match, crowd is going apeshit. Bunny takes off his head to reveal...Rey Mysterio.

That would be hilarious if that happened but happened to be Seth Rollins.

Best thing would be Orton returning and winning the Rumble and face Rollins at WM and Orton wins and puts an end to the authority

Cena-Reigns WM collision course. This will be confirmed as after the title match Rollins cashes in on a spent Cena and loses anyway and Reigns wins the rumble.

WWE and TNA come to some kind of agreement and Kurt Angle is allowed to enter briefly as a surprise entrant.

Sadly, this is a "young" crowd, and nobody really knows who Kurt Angle is. Therefore, what should have been one of the holiest shit moments of all time, turns into a huge tumbleweed casually rolling around the arena.

The MAD Magazine forum?

Obviously the cunts at Rajah.

Big Show wardrobe malfunction.

Authority takes out Daniel Bryan and Triple H takes his place and wins it.

Vince books a terrorist to blow up the building.

Bryan is eliminated, lands on his shoulder, is re-injured misses Mania. They press on with Reigns-Lesnar which gets a Goldberg-Lesnar WM20 type reaction on the night.

Doesn't matter that Bryan won at mania last year. He's still ridiculously over. Far more than Reigns. I don't even have to comment on ring work.

Bryan winning the rumble and winning the title again at mania doesn't mean he has to be the permanent face of the company. If you want Reigns for that spot than fine(though I don't see any potential in the guy to be in that spot) but groom him for that role slowly, while you have a guy who is over as fuck to be there until Reigns is ready for it.

Brock vs Bryan is the most intriguing WM match up for me.

Yup

If Brock vs Bryan main events WM I will not watch it. That is a match I never want to see because it will not be believable to me to have any other outcome than Brock winning. Since we all know that Brock is prob leaving again, that means I would have to accept Daniel Bryan legit beating Lesnar for the title....and that is utterly ridiculous. I know wrestling is fake, but sometimes you have to draw a line; I can not see Bryan ever legitmately beating Lesnar. I felt the same way about Rey Mysterio back in the day when he was main eventing.

What WM Main Event "does it for you"?

I'm down for a Shield triple threat for the title. As long as Reigns doesn't win, anyways.

Have either Cena or Lesnar win the title at the RR only for Rollins to immediately cash in and win it. Have Reigns win the RR like has been rumored for months now. Then just have Dean Ambrose constantly interfering with Rollins again in the lead up until Wrestlemania, perhaps giving him a win-and-you're-in match at EC to build him a little more and give reason to him being inserted into the main event at WM. Something along those lines.

...In that case you could still have Brock vs Bryan at WM....

Royce Gracie used to beat big guys in UFC.

I would love to see Brock/Bryan for the title but will still be intrigued if its just a non title match.

I do think Brock should "make" someone when he loses the title, with him being the streak breaker and dominating Cena at SummerSlam. I really don't see anyone who is ready to beat Brock yet though.

Would have been down for a Shield triple threat, but Ambrose has been booked so weakly that he doesn't really seem to fit in with the main event picture anymore.

rember orton could come in and win it

For me, believability doesn't apply on a show that sometimes has characters with magical powers.

The ultimate underdog vs the ultimate obstacle is the best story out of all the options available, imo.

Honestly though, I have never understood that viewpoint. On the list of unrealistic shit in wrestling, a small guy beating a big guy seems like it would be really tame compared to everything else.

I wonder if he felt the same way when Michaels beat Vader. Or when Taz beat Bam Bam. Or Bret over Yoko. Or any of the billion times in wrestling history that a little guy beat the monster.

I mean it would be one thing if Bryan was overpowering Lesnar, and winning tests of strength and shit. But that obviously wouldn't happen. They're both good enough workers that they could find a way to make it work just like when Eddie beat Brock.

Which was a fucking awesome match, btw.

I'd go with Roman Reigns winning the rumble as the worst possible scenario. The guy simply isn't ready to main-event right now and I think the WWE would be 'throwing him to the wolves' if they went this route.


Daniel Bryan winning for a second straight year would be nice, but he's a health risk right now and so I'm not sure if the WWE goes this route.


Ambrose, Ziggler, and Cesaro would have been great choices had they been made to look more credible over this past year, but things turned out differently (Ambrose's push actually was pretty good from what I understand, but he was made to look continuously inferior to Wyatt and Rollins).


Perhaps the WWE's best play would be in having a face Randy Orton winning the rumble and then facing Rollins at Mania'. Capitalize on Orton's return face pop, and then launch him to the top again.

Ziggler would have been my choice, if they had built off his Survivor Series victory, but instead he's just kind of been there.

I'll agree with this.


However - if we can go back to the RAW after last year's Wrestlemania and do it all over again, then my choice would have been Cesaro.


Have him keep Swagger's theme music, have him stay face, have him keep doing that airplane move, and slowly build him up.


How the WWE missed this golden opportunity is beyond me.


I also think the WWE should have milked the Shield/Wyatt rivalry for a lot longer. After destroying Evolution, Shield/Wyatt should have feuded for a few months a la Nation/DX 1998.

Even with Bryan being a health risk you have to go with him. He is the person everyone will want and go ape shit for in the main event. This allows for Reigns to be slow groomed into being liked/loved by the fans.
I can't really see a Orton and Brock program being that good but this would probably be the best way to go if Orton wins. Orton vs Rollins does not scream main event and no one wants another Orton vs Cena feud again.

This would be my #1 choice as well, but I'm just not completely sold on Bryan's health. What happens if he gets injured again between Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania? Although I guess you could make that argument for ANY wrestler (i.e. "what if they get injured").


Bryan vs. Lesnar would be great, but I can't help but wonder if Bryan is on borrowed time as far as his injuries go. It might be better to invest in someone else to get a win over Lesnar at Mania (i.e. Orton).

Fandango vs Lesnar. Do it.

What happened to your old avatar with the African American in it?

I went through a nostalgic "I love Todd Pettengill" phase. I guess I could bring him back.

Todd Pettengill vs Brock Lesnar. Do it.

Not really with those examples, but then I was little in those days and don't really remember. Out of all of those, Bret over Yoko would have probably bothered me the most. But then, all of those guys are kind of a different kind of big man than Lesnar is.

I don't group all big men together; theres ones like Lesnar and Lashley who are ripped up freaks, then theres 'giants' like Big Show, Andre, Kevin Nash, then there is a group for people like Yoko and Earthquake and Viscera, etc. Too many differences in size and build to just say big man for all of them.

Also, I didn't used to feel like this; several years ago when they had Rey Mysterio going over Big Show things changed. I saw that and was like no.....just no. It kind of brought me back to my days being a WCW mark and there being legit divisions for different size guys. Daniel Bryan would have been amazing in the cruiser division.

Look up Dream 9's SuperHulk Tournament. In particular, Minowa vs. Bob Sapp.

Jey and Jimmy Uso draw numbers one and two. They enter the ring, have a stare down, then take turns having fans chant "Sooooooooooo" at each side of the ring for 90 seconds.

I actually feel like the need for realism is what's making wrestling worse. Sure a guy like Daniel Bryan could beat a guy like Brock Lesnar in real life. I don't care. I don't give a fuck about real life when I'm watching wrestling. If I did, I'd watch UFC. If Daniel Bryan was the size he is but had a larger than life character, then I'd be all for him as the main guy. As it stands, there's too much "regular joe" stuff going on and it's getting too far into "fake version of UFC" territory. There's a reason Bob Backlund needed to go and Hogan needed to come in. Wrestling as a legitimate sport was dead. It's still dead. It's not coming back. They need to stop trying.

Ahead of Batista, most definitely.

Worst move ever having him win the RR.

It's more to do with the fact that it would be a sense of deja vu i.e. having Bryan win the title again at WM.

In any case I am quite certain Sting v Triple H (with the stipulation of total control of the WWE) is going to close out the show given at how much would be riding on the match and the fact it would generate a huge amount of buzz being Sting's WWE in-ring and WM debut and perhaps finale.


Furthermore I feel winning the Royal Rumble and the title match at WM has lost it's shine with the exception of WM 29 and WM 30. In recent times the focus has been on big draw matches like Rock v Cena 1, Rock v Hogan and post WM 22, the streak. The title match seemed to be a sideshow and as last year proved, you don't have to even be in the Royal Rumble match to get the opportunity to headline and win the title.

As far as believability unlike Rey Bryan has a style that could compete with Brock his frenzied offense and ground game would be a nice complement to Brock raw power scary speed and wrestling background ....I really wanna see that match I need to see it.

This is going to be a very unpopular statement, but I really think the worst thing is Rollins winning the title. It just automatically devalues what could be the big title match at Mania, and they don't make Seth a star in the process, because he has to lose it two months later, and then the company is left with no heels. Worst for Mania, worst for the long run, and possibly worst for Seth.

Very interesting post, and I agree with what you're saying.

The money is definitely in the unbeatable monster who ended The Streak being dethroned as champion and driven from the company at Mania. Anybody other than Lesnar carrying gold into WM31 is a mistake.

Truth be told I'm not a huge fan of Rollins either or Ambrose. But he has held onto that briefcase for an incredible amount of time now and it would be silly to not have him cash in and win at some point.

I don't see Lesnar being given the distinction of a title match at WM, certainly not the main event given that he will be leaving shortly and it would a little stupid to have him lose the title in his final match and then disappear afterwards without some sort of rematch story etc.

I'm perhaps hopeful/clutching at straws for Taker v Lesnar 2 maybe with the stipulation that the lose "leaves the WWE for good" hence tying in with Lesnar's departure. Perhaps a submission match or buried alive match or casket match?

+1

I could see them pulling a bit of a "swerve" by having Lesnar retain at Mania. Everybody will expect him to lose the title at Mania should be be carrying it in. Lesnar would retain to the shock of everybody, sign an extension taking him to Raw the following night where he drops the belt either via MITB or in a rematch against his Mania opponent.

Wouldn't be a bad idea, in terms of not being predictable, but I think the WWE needs to have their guy go over Lesnar at Wrestlemania, so that the significance of the moment is amplified.

Anyone think Orton could win the RR and Seth wins the belt?

No. But it would be... interesting.

Heel Seth Rollins defeating Face Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania.
 

Wondering if a face Brock Lesnar vs. heel Seth Rollins at mania' could work?


Think about it - Seth Rollins is up there with Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan in terms of the WWE wanting someone to be "the guy." With Reigns still a bit green, and with Bryan's health a question mark, why shouldn't the WWE give the nod to Seth Rollins?


Have Rollins pin Cena at the RR (authority takes out Lesnar). Lesnar gets pissed, enters the rumble, and then wins/dominates the rumble.


At Wrestlemania, Seth Rollins gets the surprising clean victory over Lesnar. Rollins doesn't even win in a cowardly way. Heel Rollins CLEANLY defeats Lesnar.


How much credibility would Rollins have at THAT point? This then lines up guys like Bryan, Cena, Reigns, and Orton to go after Rollins for future feuds.

Rajah is still around? I thought that place died in the mid 2000s. But that isn't the forum I am talking about. I was talking about the Craphole. Where from Summerslam 2013 until Wrestlemania in 2014 almost every thread was people bitching about Bryan being "buried".

Really they still whined when it was painfully obvious that his losing and "burial" was part of a grander plot?

that's hilarious

No, it wasn't part of a grander plot. If it wasn't for the complainers they would have gone with Batista and Randy Orton.

FACT. /Tyson Kidd.

Undertaker pulls his pants down and reveals a red afro on his balls.

yeah i posted it, he could get bootista heat

Hulkamania ran wild for 9 years. Austin and The Rock carried 'Mania for several years, as have Cena and HHH. Don't give me this 12 year old kid deja vu bullshit about Daniel Bryan for 2 consecutive years. The best stories, characters and personalities carry WM, and Bryan ' s pops and "overness" are genuine and legitimate... therefore not to be dismissed and ignored. I'm not even a huge backer of DBry, but it's just common sense.

Bryan isn't and never will be considered on the same level as those guys who are icons, legends of the business.

This isn't about him being a "small guy" or anything. Rey Mysterior and Eddie were small guys and amongst the best of all time.

Bryan isn't that good and quite a fairr few members of the roster get "huge pops". And as for the "Daniel Bryan story", well even that has gone stale now.

The Authority storyline is pretty much entering the final phase and it seems that Sting v Triple H is going to mark that.

What is stopping Bryan from being a legend? How is he not that good?

He's too normal. I guess within the world of wrestling he could be a "legend" in the same way Eddie, Rey, etc. is but his appeal is limited to "he's an amazing technician". That's not enough anymore. As a personality, there's nothing amazing about him.

I love the guy but the people who think he should be on that level should slow down a bit.

Bret hart has a wooden personality and is as normal as they come and he's a legend

And Bryan has more personality than him

However it is too early to start putting him in the Legends catagory

Other than longevity, there's nothing that 2015 Daniel Bryan doesn't have that mid-'90s Bret Hart had.

Daniel Bryan reminds me of HBK in so many ways.

He's the best guy on the roster, for one. Two, with his long hair now it's really starting to pop out at me. 3. The boyhood dream is so similar to Daniel's story and the parallels between the two of them fighting for years to finally get the much deserved top spot are uncanny.

I think WWE is going to go with Cena vs Bryan at WM. If it were an iron man match, even better.

Hart was cool. With a name like "The Hitman", his leather jacket, shades, rocker-like hair, he had the look and the in-ring ability and was involved in memorable matches.

Sure Bryan's career is far from over but other than an "against the odds" storyline like him vs the authority, what else has he got going for him?

He's too normal.

Rey and Eddie had ability and persona and memorable feuds. Maybe in time I will warm to Bryan but I really don't see what all the fuss is about with him.

<font color=goldenrod>Not only is Bryan excellent, I think a lot of the desire to see him main event another WrestleMania and win the title again is because we never got to see him get a proper run. Him winning at WrestleMania was such a great feel-good moment, but nothing came of it. They put him on the backburner in a terrible Kane feud while Evolution's return took center stage, and then he got hurt.

If Bryan had stayed healthy, main evented several PPVs, and then dropped the belt to Lesnar at SummerSlam. I honestly think everybody, IWC included would have been fine with Bryan moving on to another program while Reigns wins the Rumble and takes over as face of the company. But between Bryan's injury robbing him of a proper title run and Reigns being underwhelming as a solo act to this point, the average fan would rather see Bryan main event Mania and actually get a real run.

That's not to say I think casuals will shit on Reigns, I don't think that at all. But if the Rumble were being held in any arena in the country and you had Bryan and Reigns as the final two, I think any audience would root for Bryan. If Bryan doesn't win this Rumble, I almost wonder if WWE made a mistake bringing him back before February.</font>

I get the point about the whole Bryan "not having his run" bit, that was just rotten luck on his part. But there are more wrestlers on the roster than Daniel Bryan and it seems stupid to give him a run for the sake of making up for lost time.

The way I see it of the "active" members of the roster only Cena is the true AAA superstar. Lesnar is a part-timer, Sting has his legacy but a part-timer, Undertaker is as good as retired and Triple H hardly wrestles. You could make a case for Randy Orton but I feel he never quite endeared himself to the fans. Ziggler isn't quite there. Rey Mysterio was once second to Cena in terms of merchandise sales I believe at one point but injuries and time away has probably meant he's faded somewhat from popularity.

If Edge hadn't retired early then he would have no doubt still been a main-event player as would have CM Punk if he hadn't left. Bryan has only really been elevated to position because of absentees, retirements etc.

Don't get me wrong I'm not a Bryan hater, I just don't consider him THAT great.

Frankly I would have liked to have seen Sheamus and Barrett given further pushes.

Exactly but I don't think it's fair to say he won't be up there after it's all said and done. Out of everyone on the roster, not including Cena, Brock, and HHH, he is the only guy with a chance to even be in the discussion of becoming a legend.

When Punk was leaving Bryan was gaining momentum like crazy to the point he was overshadowing Punk and I remember seeing somewhere Punk pretty much putting Bryan over as the guy (sure he was probably still upset at his lack of main event push) but he was also cheer-leading the idea of Bryan being on top.

Don't bother with this guy. In his book nobody should have a second title run.

He was only elevated because the fans demanded it. You can bet your ass WWE never planned to get Bryan to this point. He caught on against all odds and that's part of the endearing quality he has.

Talk about taking my own advice...

No I never said that dumbass. All I said was that Bryan wasn't worthy of a second title run, in fact, a fourth title run, fifth if you consider the WHC too.

Bryan isn't the only the person on the roster and popularity rises and wanes with time.

90's Bret Hart had the luxury of being a focal point through part of the two hottest periods in wrestling history and happened to be in one of the most controversial moments ever. If it wasn't for that, he would not be nearly as big of a deal. Daniel Bryan exists in a time where wrestling is the drizzling shits even to most of the people who still follow it. Big disadvantage.

Franchise, Bryan isn't worthy of second title run? oh ok. Thank God you're not booking.

How do you feel about Fandango?

You are suggesting a big part of the reason Hart was over was he had a look to him. The same could be said for Bryan, the leather Jacket and wet hair and all that is a look that speaks to Harts time it was a cool look.Bryan's look reflects the time we are in now,the current western world champions the average joe Bryan is cool because he's a nerdy scruffy looking everyman that is his look whether purposefully cultivated or not. In fact the Stone Cold same thing very basic look and an everyman like Bryan, but where Stone Cold touched the part of us that wanted to be a take no shit anti -hero who kicked the shit outta our bosses, flipped him the bird and quit our shitty job Bryan speaks to the part of us that is that lovable loser who is average but trains and fights hard to be more and every time hes in the ring he goes all out to win.

We already had a loveable loser before by the name of Mick Foley whom again Bryan isn't on the same level as.

Bryan may be "hot" now but this time next year, five years from now, ten years from now we won't be viewing him in the same light.

So why shouldn't they capitalize now while he's hot? Should they keep giving the belt to Cena, because people will still be talking about him in ten years?

A huge chunk of todays audience doesn't even know Mick Foley was a thing.

Bryan and Foley are two different monsters in terms of style and presentation

So a Roman Reigns will be hot and stay hot in the next five years?Who can say what the future holds really but Bryan has a hell of a lead over Regins as far as watchabilty and the potential for staying power goes A lot of people don't wanna see Reigns now let alone 5 yrs down the line. Despite his push to head of the pack its backfiring badly and tomorrow he is in Philadelphia.